Erika Kirk has revealed why she has ‘forgiven’ her husband’s murderer.
On September 10, Kirk was shot and killed while at an event at Utah Valley University as part of his Turning Point USA comeback tour, and the 31-year-old was rushed to the hospital by his security team, where he tragically died.
Two days after his shooting, the authorities announced that they had arrested the suspected shooter, who they identified as Tyler Robinson, 22.
Robinson has since been charged in suspicion of Kirk’s death, with some of his seven counts being aggravated murder, two counts of obstruction of justice, and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury.
Amongst the many speakers at Kirk’s memorial was his widow, Erika Kirk, who revealed that she had ‘forgiven’ her husband’s killer.
During her speech, she said that Kirk wanted to ‘help save young men, just like the one who took his life’.
“That young man, that young man,” the 36-year-old said. “On the cross, our savior said: ‘Father, forgive them for they not know what they do.’
“That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do.
“The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love, love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
Elsewhere in her speech, Erika also revealed what a surgeon told her about Kirk’s death when she went to the hospital in Utah to see his deceased body.
She said: “I saw the wound that ended his life. I felt everything he would expect to feel. I felt shock. I felt horror, and a level of heartache that I didn’t even know existed.
“But there was something else too. Even in death, I could see the man that I love… I also saw on his lips the faintest smile…
“Even the doctor told me there was something so instant that even if Charlie had been shot in the operating room itself, nothing could have been done. There was no pain, there was no fear, no agony.
“One moment Charlie was doing what he loved, arguing and debating on campus, fighting for the gospel and truth in front of a big crowd, then he blinked.
He blinked and saw his savior in paradise.”
Erika concluded her statement by saying: “Charlie’s life was a turning point for this country. It was a miracle… Choose prayer, choose courage, choose beauty, choose adventure, choose family, choose a life of faith. Most importantly, choose Christ.”